The 18-year-old driver said that the SUV kept accelerating even after he slammed on the brakes
October 5, 2024 at 21:01
- A 2022 Honda Pilot allegedly accelerated to 120 mph without the driver pressing the gas pedal.
- The teenager’s mother called 911 after he struggled to control the runaway Honda.
- Police helped stop the speeding SUV using a controlled crash to avoid a disaster.
An 18-year-old driver had a terrifying experience while driving a Honda Pilot when the SUV allegedly accelerated to 120 mph (193 km/h) without him pressing the gas pedal. The teenager’s mother called the police, who managed to avert disaster by coordinating a controlled crash on the highway.
The incident occurred on the evening of September 17 in Becker County, Minnesota. Sam Dutcher, who had graduated high school just a few months earlier, was driving home to West Fargo, North Dakota, when something went wrong with the family car.
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According to the young driver, the 2022 Honda Pilot continued accelerating even after he removed his foot from the gas pedal. The teen claimed he pressed the brake pedal to the floor and tried shifting the vehicle into neutral, but neither action slowed the speeding SUV. With no other way to stop, Dutcher had no choice but to keep driving on the interstate, doing his best to avoid traffic.
Unable to reach 911 himself, he asked his mother to call the police for help. Trooper Zach Gruver soon located the teen driver and caught up to him in his Dodge Charger police cruiser. After passing the speeding SUV, the officer braked, causing the Honda’s collision avoidance system to engage and slow the vehicle. According to reports, the impact occurred at around 50 mph (80 km/h).
The controlled crash, captured on the police dashcam, saved Dutcher and other road users from what could have been a far worse outcome. The vehicle finally came to a complete stop just 4 miles (6.4 km) from an intersection. Fortunately, there was no traffic in the rural area of western Minnesota at the time, reducing the risk of a potentially fatal accident.
Speaking to Associated Press, Trooper Gruver explained his reasoning for using the police car as a barrier: “That was really all I could think of that was going to get him stopped in time. We kind of just ran out of time and distance. I really didn’t know of any other way.”
Before the officer intervened, another trooper had spoken to Dutcher by phone, reviewing all possible options. By the time the car was stopped, the teenager had traveled 30 miles (48 km) since discovering the malfunction.
Catherine Dutcher, Sam’s mother, mentioned that the Pilot had previously been in the shop due to the accelerator getting stuck. When asked about the incident by the Associated Press, a Honda spokeswoman declined to speculate on what might have gone wrong, prompting the family to take the SUV into a dealership for inspection.
